The Prevention of Crime

Steven Fernandez
CJ212-01
Kaplan University
2/10/2013Crime Prevention is the key to keeping citizens safe, and the goal of police departments nationwide. In order to understand how to prevent crime we must look at the reasons crime occurs. Crime by definition is “the act or commission of an act that is forbidden, or the omission of that duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law. The prevention of crime takes many shapes in order to be effective. We will evaluate what some of these steps are, to establish a basis for prevention of crime. In law enforcement crime prevention takes its most important stand. Crime prevention in law enforcement helps to ensure that the citizens of our nation stay safe from violent, repeat, and first time offenders. One methods used in the prevention of crime by many departments around the nation is that of Community Oriented Policing. According to Burke (2010), Community Oriented policing came about in the early 90’s as a program to advance community policing. The main focus of the COP program was to provide current trends of crime and research findings to reduce crime. Extra officers were higher equaling in more interaction with the community. By patrolling extra and having the extra resources to focus on special law enforcement operations, crime was significantly reduced. The COP model allowed for more interaction within the community, providing officers with detailed information to troubled areas, and where they could shift their focus to show a strong presence in said areas. Crime Prevention plays a big part in the criminal justice system. From the enforcement on the street by police, to the courts in sentencing the proposed punishment for the crimes, to the rehabilitation and reintegration of these offenders into society to reduce recidivism rates. It is highly regarded that the foremost way in preventing crime, is through analysis...